This dataset provides wall-to-wall maps of forest structure across Canada's 650 million hectare forested ecosystems for the year 2022, generated at a spatial resolution of 30 m. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Structure estimates include key attributes such as canopy height, canopy cover, and aboveground biomass, derived using a combination of airborne lidar and Landsat-based spectral composites. Structure models were trained using the - lidar-plot framework - (Wulder et al. 2012), which integrates co-located airborne lidar data and ground plot measurements with Landsat time-series composites (Hermosilla et al. 2016). A Nearest Neighbour imputation approach was applied to estimate structural attributes across the full extent of Canada's forested area. These nationally consistent products are intended to support strategic-level forest monitoring and assessment and are not designed for operational forest management. For further details on the methods, accuracy assessment, and source data, see Matasci et al. (2018). Matasci, G., Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Hobart, G.W., Bolton, D.K., Tompalski, P., Bater, C.W., 2018. Three decades of forest structural dynamics over Canada's forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series and lidar plots. Remote Sensing of Environment, 216, 697-714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.07.024 (Matasci et al. 2018)

High-resolution annual forest land cover maps for Canada's forested ecosystems (1984-2022). It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). The annual time series of forest land cover maps are national in scope (entire 650 million hectare forested ecosystem) and represent a wall-to-wall land cover characterization yearly from 1984 to 2022. These time-series land cover maps were produced from annual time-series of Landsat image composites, forest change information, and ancillary topographic and hydrologic data following the framework described in Hermosilla et al. (2022), which builds upon the approach introduced in Hermosilla et al. (2018). The methodological innovations included (i) a refined training pool derived from existing land cover products using airborne and spaceborne measures of forest structure; (ii) selection of training samples proportionally to the land cover distribution using a distance-weighted approach; and (iii) generation of regional classification models using a 150x150 km tiling system. Maps are post-processed using disturbance information to ensure logical class transitions over time using a Hidden Markov Model. Hidden Markov Models assess individual year class likelihoods to reduce variability and possible noise in year-on-year class assignments (for instances when class likelihoods are similar). Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., 2022. Land cover classification in an era of big and open data: Optimizing localized implementation and training data selection to improve mapping outcomes. Remote Sensing of Environment. Vol. 268, No. 112780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112780. (Hermosilla et al. 2022) Hermosilla, T., M.A. Wulder, J.C. White, N.C. Coops, G. W. Hobart, (2018). Disturbance-Informed Annual Land Cover Classification Maps of Canada's Forested Ecosystems for a 29-Year Landsat Time Series. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing. 44(1) 67-87.DOI: 10.1080/07038992.2018.1437719 (Hermosilla et al. 2018).

Forest Percent Above Mean 2015 Percentage of first returns above the mean height (%). It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Represents the canopy cover above mean canopy height. Products relating the structure of Canada's forested ecosystems have been generated and made openly accessible. The shared products are based upon peer-reviewed science and relate aspects of forest structure including: (i) metrics calculated directly from the lidar point cloud with heights normalized to heights above the ground surface (e.g., canopy cover, height), and (ii) modelled inventory attributes, derived using an area-based approach generated by using co-located ground plot and ALS data (e.g., volume, biomass). Forest structure estimates were generated by combining information from lidar plots (Wulder et al. 2012) with Landsat pixel-based composites (White et al. 2014; Hermosilla et al. 2016) using a nearest neighbour imputation approach with a Random Forests-based distance metric. These products were generated for strategic-level forest monitoring information needs and are not intended to support operational-level forest management. All products have a spatial resolution of 30 m. For a detailed description of the data, methods applied, and accuracy assessment results see Matasci et al. (2018). When using this data, please cite as follows: Matasci, G., Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Hobart, G.W., Bolton, D.K., Tompalski, P., Bater, C.W., 2018b. Three decades of forest structural dynamics over Canada's forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series and lidar plots. Remote Sensing of Environment 216, 697-714. Matasci et al. 2018) Geographic extent: Canada's forested ecosystems (~ 650 Mha) Time period: 1985–2011

Forest Elevation(Ht) Mean 2015 Mean height of lidar first returns (m). Represents the mean canopy height. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Products relating the structure of Canada's forested ecosystems have been generated and made openly accessible. The shared products are based upon peer-reviewed science and relate aspects of forest structure including: (i) metrics calculated directly from the lidar point cloud with heights normalized to heights above the ground surface (e.g., canopy cover, height), and (ii) modelled inventory attributes, derived using an area-based approach generated by using co-located ground plot and ALS data (e.g., volume, biomass). Forest structure estimates were generated by combining information from lidar plots (Wulder et al. 2012) with Landsat pixel-based composites (White et al. 2014; Hermosilla et al. 2016) using a nearest neighbour imputation approach with a Random Forests-based distance metric. These products were generated for strategic-level forest monitoring information needs and are not intended to support operational-level forest management. All products have a spatial resolution of 30 m. For a detailed description of the data, methods applied, and accuracy assessment results see Matasci et al. (2018). When using this data, please cite as follows: Matasci, G., Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Hobart, G.W., Bolton, D.K., Tompalski, P., Bater, C.W., 2018b. Three decades of forest structural dynamics over Canada's forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series and lidar plots. Remote Sensing of Environment 216, 697-714. Matasci et al. 2018) Wulder et al. 2018) Geographic extent: Canada's forested ecosystems (~ 650 Mha) Time period: 1985–2011

This dataset provides a Canada-wide map of vegetation height and the delineation of the northern forest limit. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Vegetation height estimates were derived from ICESat-2 LiDAR observations, integrated with Landsat time series and topographic variables to model spatial patterns. The northern forest limit represents the transition between boreal forest and tundra, an ecologically significant zone for monitoring climate change impacts and biodiversity. Vegetation height was modeled for six time-periods including 1985-1995, 1990-2000, 1995-2005, 2000-2010, 2005-2015 and 2010-2021. Predictions for each time period represent the median conditions for that period. Predictions of height and the probability of canopy presence were generated using Random Forests models trained on spaceborne-lidar data collected by ICESat-2 from 2019-2021 and overlapping Landsat satellite imagery from 2010-2021. These Random Forests models were then applied to the entire archive of Landsat imagery, representing a period of ~35 years. This dataset provides spatially explicit prediction of vegetation height (m) along the Canadian northern forest limit at 30 m spatial resolution. Pixels with a low (< 50 %) probability of containing a vegetation canopy have been assigned a height of 0 m. The science and methods for this dataset were the result of a collaboration between the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada, partnered with the Integrated Remote Sensing Studio (IRSS) in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia. When using this data, please cite: Travers-Smith, H., Coops, N. C., Mulverhill, C., Wulder, M. A., Ignace, D., Lantz, T. C. (2024). Mapping vegetation height and identifying the northern forest limit across Canada using ICESat-2, Landsat time series and topographic data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 305, 114097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114097 (Travers-Smith et al. 2024). Additional details outlining application of the model to the time-series of Landsat data can be found here: Travers-Smith, H., Coops, N., Mulverhill, C., Wulder, M. A., Lantz, T. C., Ignace, D. (2025). Satellite observations reveal stable forest limits and shrub expansion across the Canadian forest-tundra ecotone. Environmental Research Letters, 20(10). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adfc7f (Travers-Smith et al. 2025).

In this dataset, we share maps of annual dominant tree species (also known as leading tree species) from 1984-2022 covering the entirety of Canada's 650 Mha forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series imagery at a 30-m spatial resolution. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Classifications are based on regionally representative Random Forests model using local training samples from Canada's National Forest Inventory (Hermosilla et al., 2024). Descriptive metrics provide information on spectral, geographic, climatic, and topographic characteristics. Initial annual tree species classifications were subjected to a time series post-classification process using the forward-backward Hidden Markov Model to improve the temporal consistency of tree species transitions within the time series. Assessment of the annual species maps using independent validation data resulted in an overall accuracy of 86.1% ± 0.14% (95%-confidence interval). These data allow consistent comparison of trends and rates of change in tree species composition nationally and across regions using a common time frame, spatial resolution, and analytical approach. Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Bater, C.W., Hobart, G.W., 2024. Characterizing long-term tree species dynamics in Canada's forested ecosystems using annual time series remote sensing data. Forest Ecology and Management, 122313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122313 (Hermosilla et al. 2024)

High-resolution false-color Landsat image composite of Canada's forested ecosystems (2022). This national image product represents the Composite to Change (C2C) proxy composite image derived from thousands of Landsat images acquired between July 1 and August 30, 2022. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). The overall process followed is described in (Hermosilla et al. 2016 ) with details on the generation of gap-free surface reflectance composites in ( Hermosilla et al. 2015). Following the motivation and rationale presented in White et al. (White et al. 2014), Landsat imagery is subjected to a series of processing steps to remove clouds and shadows as well as haze and other unwanted atmospheric effects. Year-on-year time series of Landsat imagery are interrogated to avoid missing values, and to ensure exhaustive spatial coverage of the national surface reflectance composites. False-colour 3-channel image (bands: shortwave infrared, SWIR1; near infrared; red) When using these data, please cite as: Hermosilla, T., M.A. Wulder, J.C. White, N.C. Coops, G.W. Hobart, L.B. Campbell, 2016. Mass data processing of time series Landsat imagery: pixels to data products for forest monitoring. International Journal of Digital Earth 9(11), 1035-1054 (Hermosilla et al. 2016 ).

Satellite-based forest area consistent with FAO definitions for Canada. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). The forest area is based on the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) definition. The FAO definition incorporates land use, whereby trees removed by fire and harvesting for instance, remain forest as the trees will return. The included map displays the current forest cover for year as noted (i.e. 2022), plus the satellite-based temporally informed forest area where tree cover has been temporarily lost due to stand replacing disturbances (i.e., fire, harvest). For an overview of the methods, data, image processing, as well as information on accuracy assessment see Wulder et al. (2020). Open Access: Wulder, M.A., T. Hermosilla, G. Stinson, F.A. Gougeon, J.C. White, D.A. Hill, B.P. Smiley. (2020). Satellite-based time series land cover and change information to map forest area consistent with national and international reporting requirements. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research 93(3), 331-34, https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpaa0063 . ( Wulder et al. 2020)

This dataset provides wall-to-wall maps of forest structure across Canada's 650 million hectare forested ecosystems for the year 2022, generated at a spatial resolution of 30 m. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Structure estimates include key attributes such as canopy height, canopy cover, and aboveground biomass, derived using a combination of airborne lidar and Landsat-based spectral composites. Structure models were trained using the - lidar-plot framework - (Wulder et al. 2012), which integrates co-located airborne lidar data and ground plot measurements with Landsat time-series composites (Hermosilla et al. 2016). A Nearest Neighbour imputation approach was applied to estimate structural attributes across the full extent of Canada's forested area. These nationally consistent products are intended to support strategic-level forest monitoring and assessment and are not designed for operational forest management. For further details on the methods, accuracy assessment, and source data, see Matasci et al. (2018). Matasci, G., Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Hobart, G.W., Bolton, D.K., Tompalski, P., Bater, C.W., 2018. Three decades of forest structural dynamics over Canada's forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series and lidar plots. Remote Sensing of Environment, 216, 697-714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.07.024 (Matasci et al. 2018)

Forest Elevation(Ht) Stddev 2015 Standard deviation of height of lidar first returns (m). Represents the variability in canopy heights. It is developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS). Products relating the structure of Canada's forested ecosystems have been generated and made openly accessible. The shared products are based upon peer-reviewed science and relate aspects of forest structure including: (i) metrics calculated directly from the lidar point cloud with heights normalized to heights above the ground surface (e.g., canopy cover, height), and (ii) modelled inventory attributes, derived using an area-based approach generated by using co-located ground plot and ALS data (e.g., volume, biomass). Forest structure estimates were generated by combining information from lidar plots (Wulder et al. 2012) with Landsat pixel-based composites (White et al. 2014; Hermosilla et al. 2016) using a nearest neighbour imputation approach with a Random Forests-based distance metric. These products were generated for strategic-level forest monitoring information needs and are not intended to support operational-level forest management. All products have a spatial resolution of 30 m. For a detailed description of the data, methods applied, and accuracy assessment results see Matasci et al. (2018). When using this data, please cite as follows: Matasci, G., Hermosilla, T., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Coops, N.C., Hobart, G.W., Bolton, D.K., Tompalski, P., Bater, C.W., 2018b. Three decades of forest structural dynamics over Canada's forested ecosystems using Landsat time-series and lidar plots. Remote Sensing of Environment 216, 697-714. Matasci et al. 2018) Geographic extent: Canada's forested ecosystems (~ 650 Mha) Time period: 1985–2011